Kennesaw State Edges Liberty 88-81 in Battle For First Place in ASUN

Kennesaw State came back and edged Liberty 88-81 on its home court at the KSU Convocation Center on Thursday night in what was a battle atop the ASUN standings between two teams who entered the night tied for first place.

The Owls erased an 11-point deficit with 7:35 to play to remain unbeaten (12-0) at home and earn their first-ever victory over the Flames in what was the 10th all-time meeting between the squads.

Liberty drops to 21-7 on the year and is in second place in the ASUN standings following tonight’s narrow setback. Meanwhile, Kennesaw improves its record to 21-7 overall and 13-2 in the league and takes over sole possession of first place in the conference. This is the only regular season meeting between the two schools this season.

Darius McGhee scored a season-high 43 points tonight, the fourth 40-point game of his career and second in as many meetings against KSU. McGhee had a Liberty Arena-record 47 points in last year’s 100-93 overtime victory against the Owls (Feb. 26, 2022).

Box Score Highlights

Liberty Individuals: Darius McGhee 43 points, 13-25 FG, 8-14 3FG, 9-10 FT, 8 rebounds; Kyle Rode 11 points, 3-4 3FG, 5 assists, 4 rebounds;

Kennesaw State Individuals: Chris Youngblood 22 points, 8-9 FG, 6 assists, 5 rebounds; Terrell Burden 19 points, 7-13 FG, 4 rebounds; Brandon Stroud 18 points, 7-12 FG, 6 rebounds; Demond Robinson 13 points, 4-5 FG, 5-5 FT; Spencer Rodgers 11 points, 3-5 3FG

Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the floor and 50 percent (12-of-24) from three-point territory. Kennesaw State knocked down 56.1 percent (32-of-57) of its shots and shot 72 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half. This is only the second time this season that the Flames have allowed a team to shoot over 50 percent. Liberty committed 17 turnovers, its third most in any game this season and most since having 19 at Oral Roberts, Dec. 12. KSU converted the 17 miscues into 23 points. The Owls had 15 turnovers, which the Flames scored 19 points off of. KSU knocked down 16-of-21 (76.2 percent), and Liberty was 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the charity stripe. Liberty held a 15-14 edge in assists, while both teams grabbed 28 rebounds. Liberty led for 32:08, while KSU only led for 5:12. The game was tied for 2:40.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay

“Hats off to Kennesaw. They played a terrific game and responded numerous times to our runs. That’s what a good team does, and they’re a good team. I though the environment was great. The significance of the outcome made the stage really fun to be a part of."

Turning Point

Liberty led by 11, 70-59, at the 7:35 mark following three free throws from Darius McGhee. The Owls closed the game on a 29-11 run over the final stretch of the game. KSU trimmed the Flames’ lead to one, 75-74, with 3:15 remaining following Terrell Burden’s layup. The Owls tied it at 75-all after Chris Youngblood split a pair of free throws. The Owls forced a Liberty turnover, and Youngblood delivered on the other end with a go-ahead three with 2:14 left for a 78-75 KSU edge.

Darius McGhee answered with a three to knot the game at 78-78, but Burden converted a three-point play and scored another layup on the next possession to push KSU’s lead to 83-78 with 44 seconds left on the clock. Kennesaw State converted on five of six foul shots in the final 32 seconds to preserve the victory.

Key Stats & Notes

• McGhee is one of only 12 players in Division I basketball this season to score 43 or more points.

• McGhee’s eight threes were tied for the second most he’s made in a game in his career, and his eight rebounds marked a season high.

• McGhee is up to 2,476 career points and moved from No. 4 to No. 3 in ASUN history for career scoring. He needs only three points to move past Lipscomb’s Garrison Matthews (2,478 points) for second place all-time in ASUN history.

• Kyle Rode scored 11 points, his 11th straight game in double figures, and dished out a team-high five assists.

• McGhee is averaging 45 points per game in his last two meetings with KSU.

• This is only the third time this year that the Flames have lost a game when leading at the break. Liberty is now 19-3 when leading at intermission.

• McGhee reached the 20-point mark in the first 11:50 of the game (8:10 mark of the first half.

• This is the first time since 2019 that two ASUN teams with 20 or more wins met during regular season play. The last instance prior tonight was the Liberty-Lipscomb regular season finale on Feb. 13, 2019. The Flames won that game 74-66 at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

• KSU has won 15 straight home games overall, dating back to the 2021-22 season.

Up Next

Liberty will face the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (11-17, 4-11 ASUN), Saturday night in another ASUN road contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern at Pete Matthews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.

This is the second regular season meeting between the two squads this season. The Flames prevailed 75-41 over the Gamecocks, Jan. 5 at Liberty Arena.

Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 2 Darius McGhee

[gallery link="file" size="large" display="slider" wpmf_folder_id="2318" ids="450277,450274,450272,450269,450268,450266,450263,450261,450259"]